Correlated oxygen-sensing PLIM, cell metabolism FLIM and applications

Correlated imaging of phosphorescence and fluorescence lifetime parameters of metabolic markers is a challenge for direct investigating mechanisms related to cell metabolism and oxygen tension. A large variety of clinical phenotypes is associated with mitochondrial defects accomplished with changes in cell metabolism. In many cases the hypoxic microenvironment of cancer cells shifts metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to anaerobic or aerobic glycolysis, a process known as “Warburg” effect. Also during stem cell differentiation a switch in cell metabolism is observed. Mitochondrial dysfunction associated with hypoxia has been invoked in many complex disorders such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer´s disease, cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury, tissue inflammation and cancer. Cellular responses to oxygen tension have been studied extensively, optical imaging techniques based on time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to detect oxygen concentration and distribution are therefore of prominent interest. Moreover, they offer the possibility by inspecting fluorescence decay characteristics of intrinsic coenzymes to directly image metabolic pathways, whereas oxygen tension can be determined by considering the phosphorescence lifetime of a phosphorescent probe. The combination of both fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) of coenzymes like NAD(P)H and FAD and phosphorescence lifetime (PLIM) of phosphorescent dyes could provide valuable information about correlation of metabolic pathways and oxygen tension.